PACE code inspector apologizes

A story by reporter David Bergengren in today's Republican has the scoop on the two-week closing of the Pioneer Arts Center of Easthampton. In a letter written to PACE owners Sonia and David Fried Oppenheim by Richard Oleksak, the building inspector who closed down PACE on Jan. 11, Oleksak states:

You have complied with my request to install emergency lighting, exit lighting and fire extinguishers . . . I am sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.

In response, David Fried Oppenheim stated:

"It takes a very big man to own up to their own actions when they've negatively impacted somebody," Fried Oppenheim said. "It wasn't intentional, we know that."

According to the story, the extended closing cost the arts center $10,000. Oleksak's lift of the suspension was prompted by the Fried Oppenheims' decision to go to a district office in Springfield "after determining additional steps ordered by Oleksak Jan. 11 would cost more than their private nonprofit organization could afford."